Amile Jefferson will be Duke's main protector of the paint next season. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

The last outstanding piece of Duke’s 2013-14 roster was settled Monday, when Memphis transfer Tarik Black chose to take his services to Kansas next year instead of Duke and Oregon. Black’s choice was first reported by CBS Sports.

The Blue Devils’ coaching staff had recruited him hard—Mike Krzyzewski, Nate James and Steve Wojciechowski all visited him at home, and he came to Duke’s campus on May 13—but he went to Kansas the next day, the same day the Jayhawks landed No. 1 recruit Andrew Wiggins, and Black made his decision one week later (one person at Duke who did benefit from Black’s decision is Todd Zafirovski , who gets to remain on scholarship for his graduate year).

DURHAM—Right from the start, the win over Maryland was different for Duke.

When the referee threw up the ball to begin the game, Mason Plumlee didn't even jump, and Alex Len easily directed it the Terrapins way. Plumlee ran back, with the rest of the Blue Devils, and set up the defense.

That wasn't a mistake—that was Duke's plan.

"We knew it was going to be a defensive game, and we wanted to come out and get a step right away and let them feel us," Plumlee said.

He had also told Amile Jefferson to take a charge, and that almost came true—but Jefferson was called for a block instead.

Ryan Kelly, dressed in street clothes, is out indefinitely. Amile Jefferson, two down on his right, is probably Duke's best option at replacing him. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—Remember when Duke opened its season with 15 straight victories, including three wins over top-5 opponents?

That’s all in the past now, as one of the key components to that early run, Ryan Kelly is out indefinitely with a foot injury. Duke is a markedly different team without him.

“This is a new team,” assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski said on his weekly radio show Monday. “The team went 15-0 was the team that had Ryan Kelly. The team without Ryan Kelly is 0-1. And so, the group that is healthy has to figure out how we win.”

DURHAM—While Mike Krzyzewski, Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski were in London prepping for Team USA’s gold medal game, a quartet of current Duke players were playing in a championship game of their own.

Thursday night, Quinn Cook and newcomers Amile Jefferson, Rasheed Sulaimon and Rodney Hood teamed up to play for Dream Works in the championship game of the N.C. Pro-Am summer league last Thursday. Ultimately, the de-facto team Duke lost 91-84 to the Banks Law Firm team of Jerry Stackhouse, Quincy Miller, Reggie Bullock, and J.T. Terrell (formerly of Wake Forest, now with Southern Cal) among others.

Amile Jefferson ended months of speculation, and weeks of waiting, by choosing Duke on Tuesday.

The McDonald's All-American forward from Philadelphia gives the Blue Devils a boost in the frontcourt and makes them one of the favorites to win the ACC in 2013.

Offseason? It was relatively busy weekend for N.C. State basketball and its potential future, and former, players.

• McDonald's All-American forward Amile Jefferson has scheduled a press conference on Tuesday (4 p.m.) at his high school in Philadelphia to announce his college decision. Jefferson, ranked as the No. 25 prospect in the class by ESPN, has N.C. State, Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State and Villanova on his list.

The Monterey (Calif.) County Herald is reporting that Monterey Peninsula College center Andrew Young, who visited N.C. State this weekend, has chosen to attend Texas A&M.

The junior-college transfer would have filled the void left by DeShawn Painter, who is transferring to Old Dominion for family reasons.

While North Carolina got a clearer picture of what its roster will look like in 2013, with the early exit of three underclassmen to the NBA on Thursday, Duke and N.C. State are still waiting.

The Blue Devils, on forward Mason Plumlee, and the Wolfpack, on forward C.J. Leslie, are both waiting for their respective pro prospects to make a decision about the NBA draft. The two Triangle teams are also waiting on Kentucky and the fate of a few key recruits. The Wildcats, the prohibitive favorite to win the 2012 NCAA title, are holding all the recruiting cards with the class of 2012.